They walked hand in hand to the dinning room and though he could feel her soft tremors as he guided her, he did not let go regardless. Brittany's gaze remained trained on the ground, tears falling from her eyes in a gentle stream. She felt helpless.
"I'm sorry we had to do things this way." Nathan said as he finally released her and pulled out a chair for her. Brittany rubbed her sweaty hands together and sat down. Food was before her, lots of it. It was fortunate that he was willing to feed her, but she didn't want to eat. She just wanted her life to return to the way it was. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows but it was the kind of punishment she was willing to take.
"Trust me when I say that it is not me that you should be afraid of." He pulled her hair behind her shoulders and his gaze almost tore through her skin as he stared hard at the crook of her neck exposed behind her collar. His touch was feather-like when he then swept his fingers across her shoulder. "As I chose you, you are now my burden to bear. Whatever happens, my commitment to you will remain unwavering. If you are in danger, I will protect you. Your foes are mine. And your wish is my command." His fingers ran down, slithering over her arm and sliding across the edge of the table.
"But in return, there is only one rule here…" He pushed the hood off his head and sat at the other end. "…You must not leave me. That is all. I am yours and you are mine." He leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Brittany noticed the food was only placed on her side of the table. Did he expect her to eat in this situation? What on earth was he actually after?
Her bond with her pack had already snapped too, she could no longer feel any connection to them or her Alpha. And she doubted they would take her back after Nathan was done with her. Even though Alpha Luke didn't say it, it was crystal clear from the beginning that he had been wanting to get rid of her. After all, people tended to condemn you the moment they realize you're a tiny bit different from them all. He, however, took things a bit, no wayyy too far.
"A single rule is not hard, is it? We are already bound together by fate. There is no reason for us to be separated, right?"
Brittany did not answer. She stared down at her spoon, as her hands tried to resist the urge to scratch at the itching symbol they had carved into her skin. She hadn't got the chance to look at it.
That strange ceremony…was it some kind of traditional marriage or did it mean she was a new member of their pack now?
"Oh. Don't step outdoors without me." He continued to say. "Our wolves are a little wilder than others, they might be rough with you. The chains are there for both your safety…" She could feel his gaze on her, penetrating her skull like always. "…and a bit of my pleasure…."
Even with that, Brittany didn't spare him a single response. Silence reigned between them and when moments passed and she continued to ignore him, his jaws tightened. Just as she begun to think he'd leave her be, she heard shuffling from his end. She looked up, catching him as he slid a smart phone across the table. "Unfortunately, I have business to attend to in a few days, but I will always pick up. You are not allowed to contact anyone but me. The moment you try, I will know."
Brittany clenched her fists under the table. He said a lot and she heard every word, but what she wanted to hear did not leave his lips. He took her out of her home, brought her to a pack she didn't belong in, locked her in some room, drugged her and did some sort of shady ceremony while she wasn't even conscious. Yet…he couldn't tell her why. He kept acting as if it was normal…as if he did not just toy with someone's life.
She neither had looks nor money. It would've been more believable if he took her as a pack slave, but…that was not the case.
Or was it?
Tears dripped down her chin and soaked into her clothes. She was a mess and she knew it. She didn't want to cry in his face but the tears wouldn't stop coming.
She remembered it was just like this when she was first taken into her pack…bound by chains and unable to see daylight. It was happening all over again.
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and by the time she could blink, a napkin had been stretched out towards her. She looked down at it then at his face and back again. Then before she could stop herself, her hands had already latched onto his. He tensed up as soon as she held him, then relaxed.
"I don't enjoy seeing you cry." His expression seemed to soften and his lips twitched, "Did I do something wro---"
"N-Nathan…" The whisper of his name was soft, yet it managed to silence him the second he heard it. She was shaking but she held him tightly. "I-If…If you tell me this is some kind of prank, then I'm still more than ready to believe. Let me go and I promise you no one will ever k---"
"Let you go, you say?"
Brittany felt her whole body stiffen. Those words felt like a ray of hope in the midst of darkness.
…But she was too naive to see the twisted look that slipped onto his face or the crooked veins that rose on his neck.
"Y-Yes."
"I'm not so cruel as to keep you here when you refuse to stay. I told you, didn't I? Your wish is my command." His lips lifted and the atmosphere suddenly became more eerie than before, sinister even. "But…I also said…there is only one rule here. You want to leave, do you? Then you'd have to do so dead."